The transition of general practice into an academic discipline: tracing the origins through the first four professors in general practice/family medicine
Being the ‘mother’ of most clinical specialties, general practice is as old as medicine itself. However, as a recognized academic discipline within medical schools, general practice has a relatively short life span. A decisive step forward was taken in 1956 when the University of Edinburgh establish...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-07-01
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| Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02813432.2024.2335537 |
| _version_ | 1827146913353302016 |
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| author | Jørund Straand Niek de Wit |
| author_facet | Jørund Straand Niek de Wit |
| author_sort | Jørund Straand |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Being the ‘mother’ of most clinical specialties, general practice is as old as medicine itself. However, as a recognized academic discipline within medical schools, general practice has a relatively short life span. A decisive step forward was taken in 1956 when the University of Edinburgh established its Department of General Practice, and appointed the world’s inaugural professor in the field in 1963. During the 1960s, the pioneering move in Edinburgh was followed by universities in the Netherlands (University of Utrecht), Canada (Western University, Ontario), and Norway (University of Oslo), marking the beginning of global academic recognition for general practice/family medicine. Despite its critical role in healthcare, the academic evolution of general practice has been sparingly documented, with a notable absence of comprehensive accounts detailing its integration into medical schools as an independent discipline with university departments and academic professors. Last year (2023) marked the 60th anniversary of Dr. Richard Scott’s historic appointment as the first professor of General Practice/Family Medicine. Through the lens of the first four professors appointed between 1963 and 1969, we explore the ‘birth’ of general practice to become an academic discipline. In most western countries of today, general practice has become a recognized medical discipline and an important part of the medical education. But many places, this development is lagging behind. The global shaping of general practice into an academic discipline is therefore definitively not completed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T08:43:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d0117a9f4404bc6af9584fea82c9645 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0281-3432 1502-7724 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-20T20:38:03Z |
| publishDate | 2024-07-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-9d0117a9f4404bc6af9584fea82c96452024-08-16T14:16:53ZengTaylor & Francis GroupScandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care0281-34321502-77242024-07-0142348349210.1080/02813432.2024.2335537The transition of general practice into an academic discipline: tracing the origins through the first four professors in general practice/family medicineJørund Straand0Niek de Wit1General Practice Research Unit (AFE), Department of General Practice/Family Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of General Practice, Julius Center of Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht, Utrecht, The NetherlandsBeing the ‘mother’ of most clinical specialties, general practice is as old as medicine itself. However, as a recognized academic discipline within medical schools, general practice has a relatively short life span. A decisive step forward was taken in 1956 when the University of Edinburgh established its Department of General Practice, and appointed the world’s inaugural professor in the field in 1963. During the 1960s, the pioneering move in Edinburgh was followed by universities in the Netherlands (University of Utrecht), Canada (Western University, Ontario), and Norway (University of Oslo), marking the beginning of global academic recognition for general practice/family medicine. Despite its critical role in healthcare, the academic evolution of general practice has been sparingly documented, with a notable absence of comprehensive accounts detailing its integration into medical schools as an independent discipline with university departments and academic professors. Last year (2023) marked the 60th anniversary of Dr. Richard Scott’s historic appointment as the first professor of General Practice/Family Medicine. Through the lens of the first four professors appointed between 1963 and 1969, we explore the ‘birth’ of general practice to become an academic discipline. In most western countries of today, general practice has become a recognized medical discipline and an important part of the medical education. But many places, this development is lagging behind. The global shaping of general practice into an academic discipline is therefore definitively not completed.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02813432.2024.2335537Family medicine/historyuniversity departments/professorsEdinburghUtrechtWestern OntarioOslo |
| spellingShingle | Jørund Straand Niek de Wit The transition of general practice into an academic discipline: tracing the origins through the first four professors in general practice/family medicine Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care Family medicine/history university departments/professors Edinburgh Utrecht Western Ontario Oslo |
| title | The transition of general practice into an academic discipline: tracing the origins through the first four professors in general practice/family medicine |
| title_full | The transition of general practice into an academic discipline: tracing the origins through the first four professors in general practice/family medicine |
| title_fullStr | The transition of general practice into an academic discipline: tracing the origins through the first four professors in general practice/family medicine |
| title_full_unstemmed | The transition of general practice into an academic discipline: tracing the origins through the first four professors in general practice/family medicine |
| title_short | The transition of general practice into an academic discipline: tracing the origins through the first four professors in general practice/family medicine |
| title_sort | transition of general practice into an academic discipline tracing the origins through the first four professors in general practice family medicine |
| topic | Family medicine/history university departments/professors Edinburgh Utrecht Western Ontario Oslo |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02813432.2024.2335537 |
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